I just heard this report about 30 minutes ago when driving and had to pull off the road I was so angry and upset. So – finally, here it is; almost EXACTLY what we have been saying about how discrimination led directly to Rowan being killed under the care of doctors at Rady Children’s Hospital.

This is a very well researched and in depth report from NPR’s California Report into the serious consequences of unconscious bias and discrimination in medicine. We have shouted exactly the same message as loud as we can, but have been ignored by nearly all medical professionals, most other people and especially the media, including San Diego’s NPR station (Rowan’s mother contacted NPR six times over the past year).

I agree that this story should be newsworthy, but why did NPR leave Special Needs Discrimination out of their report? Why was Rowan’s story (who was killed by an almost identical method of discrimination) ignored, while this story was highlighted?

Rowan and those with special needs and disabilities are just not deemed newsworthy … despite suffering exactly the same stereotyping and discrimination as other minority groups. They are just …….. invisible. Well, they aren’t invisible to me, and they certainly shouldn’t be to society.

If you choose to read this report, and are a person who has decided to ignore Rowan’s story, I hope you consider what YOUR biases are. To say you don’t have any unconscious biases is to ignore the problem that this report describes in detail, providing concrete research and examples from both doctors and patients to back it up.

Discrimination in healthcare was real for Rowan, and it was the direct cause of his death. Rowan’s life mattered. Everything that happened to those interviewed for this report happened to Rowan. For the most part they were lucky and survived. He did not and the world is a lesser place without him.

So sorry for the continuing pain and disappointment you feel over the loss of your precious child. Sadly, the medical community will never admit to wrongdoing in your Son’s case, since that will open them up to malpractice suits as well as, perhaps, involuntary manslaughter charges [though a civil suit taken out against them might allow you to have some closure, though never to the loss of your child].

Thank you so much for taking part in the conversation. I wonder if the question is not whether the medical community will ever admit to wrongdoing, but whether we (as a society) will choose to insist that the lives of individuals with special needs matter in medicine.

(As an aside – it is a common misconception to think that civil suits are possible in these cases. Due to proposition 46, this is not possible in California)

Rowan was killed at a renowned children’s hospital as a direct result of the careless and unnecessary use of general anesthesia for a “routine” outpatient diagnostic procedure .. against his mother’s wishes.

Want to help make a difference? Visit How To Take Action to speak out against medical negligence and special needs discrimination in healthcare.
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